Claustrophobia
by wolf of infinity
Summary: After being trapped in a failed elevator, Canada realizes that Prussia might not be as strong and fearless as everyone believes... Can be seen as light Prussia x Canada, or just friendship. One-shot.


_Wow, lack of sleep seems to bring about cheesiness in buckets and loads... ^_^'' I know some of you might say that "bleh, Prussia is sooo ooc", but I honestly believe there's more to His Awesomeness than meets the eye, and who's to say he _wouldn't_ act like this? Anyway, this fic can be seen as Prussia and Canada friendship, or the beginning of something more, depending on what you prefer ^^ _

_I hope you'll enjoy it (and that you can afford the dentist-appointment afterwards due to too much sugary cheesiness)!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Hetalia – Axis Powers or any of its characters._

_oOo_

Matthew nearly groaned with frustration as he darted towards the elevator, already knowing he wouldn't make it. Damn this gigantic American building and its long corridors... And of course, they had to have the meeting room built on the fourteenth fucking floor, so that he was always bound to wait for an elevator, only for people to rush in and leave him standing there, unnoticed, while the elevator moved down again.

Suddenly, he noticed a hand shooting out and stopping the door, which nearly made him trip and fall in pure shock. Glancing behind him, he noticed that there were no one else nearby. But no one ever held the elevator for him. No one _ever_ noticed him and waited...

"T-thank you..." he murmured shyly as he reached it and slipped inside. Only now did he see who it was. The pale-haired man grinned at him as the elevator door closed and they were moving down. Prussia... Matthew was stunned. He hadn't really had much to do with the ex-nation, and he wasn't aware that the man could even see him. To Matthew, he seemed like a fairly loud and oblivious person, kind of like his brother, and these types rarely seemed to notice quiet, shy people like him.

"No problem," the man said, and Matthew was yet again surprised. He didn't sound loud now, actually his voice sounded... nervous. Discreetly taking a closer look at him, Matthew noticed his tense body composure, and the way his strange deep-red eyes flickered constantly to the flashing numbers as he swallowed, his grin fading ever so slightly.

"Are you all right...?" he asked carefully.

"Wha- y-yeah! Of course!" the man laughed a little, but it sounded strained and slightly too high-pitched to be natural. Matthew didn't push the matter, simply glanced at the numbers. Still seven floors to go... And then suddenly, they stopped. At first, Matthew was sure that someone was getting on, but suddenly there was a strange sound of machinery somewhere outside the box, and everything went dark.

"What the...?" he blinked, frowning slightly. He didn't have time to say anything else, because he suddenly grew painfully aware of the strained gasps to his left. "P-Prussia...?" The only answer he got was a strangled cry. It sent shivers down his spine, filled with raw fear. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he could see the other slumping down to the floor.

"Pr- Gilbert!" he moved forward and crouched down next to him, fumbling in the darkness until he found the other, putting his hand on his shoulder in what he hoped was a relaxing manner.

"N-no..." he heard the other gasp. "C-can't breathe..." the words was followed with a string of German that Matthew couldn't understand, before the voice trailed off with a strangled whimper

His heart nearly stopped. Gilbert was claustrophobic...? That would explain why he was so tense earlier. Matthew searched for the other's hand, and found it, giving it a comfortable squeeze.

"Gilbert? Listen to me, it's going to be ok!" he only got rapid gasps and whimpers in return and felt his heart ache for the other. He remembered vaguely his brother talking about how Gilbert had been trapped with Ivan many years ago, and how the Russian had been quite horrible to him. Was that what caused this reaction...? Matthew nearly shivered at the mere thought of any torture the large nation might come up with.

"You're okay! Please, Gilbert, calm down," he spoke in what he hoped was a calm, soothing tone, and felt the other tremble violently next to him. "Take deep breaths with me, okay?" he took a deep breath, and held it a bit before breathing out. As he did it again, he heard the other struggle to do the same, and felt relieved. At least he was listening to what he was saying.

"That's it, deep breaths. See, you can breathe, the lights just went out. I'm sure someone will fix it soon."

"I'm... scared..." he heard a shaky whisper, and was glad the other couldn't see the surprise on his face. Of all people, Matthew never expected the seemingly fearless, 'awesome' Gilbert Beilschmidt to admit he was scared of anything. Somehow, it made his heart melt and he gently stroke the back of the Prussian's hand with his thumb.

"It's okay to be scared sometimes," he murmured gently. "I understand."

The other was still trembling, and without really registering what he was doing, Matthew moved closer and wrapped his arm around him. Gilbert tensed for only a second, before leaning into the embrace, knees pulled close up to his chest, almost like a little child. The Canadian wondered vaguely how long it had been since the strong ex-nation had been hugged and comforted like this.

Strangely, the other did seem to calm down a bit, his breathing still a bit quick and shallow, but a lot calmer than before. Matthew closed his eyes and began to sing softly the words of an old French song that had been one of his favourites ever since he was young.

_À la claire fontaine,  
M'en allant promener  
J'ai trouvé l'eau si belle  
Que je m'y suis baigné_

He could tell that Gilbert was listening intently, and felt him stop trembling ever so slightly, eventually resting his head on Matthew's shoulder. Warmed by this, Matthew smiled softly and kept singing, hoping that Gilbert didn't notice the small sounds of machinery somewhere in the distance. Hopefully, the lights would come back soon...

_Je voudrais que la rose,  
Fût encore au rosier  
Et que ma douce amie  
Fût encore à m'aimer_

_Il y a longtemps que je t'aime  
Jamais je ne t'oublierai…_

The song ended, and he heard a quiet sniffle.

"Please... don't stop..." he heard a soft whisper from the ex-nation. He was still shivering, and Matthew nodded slightly before beginning on a different lullaby, the French words filling the dark elevator and echoing slightly off the metallic walls.

He wasn't sure how long they sat like that, but suddenly grew aware of some knocking sounds in the distance, followed by groaning of some sort of wire. Gilbert tensed immediately, but then the lights flickered on, blinding both of the men and halting Matthew's singing.

"See, I'm sure we'll be out of here soon," he said and smiled at the other, who was still leaning on his shoulder. He felt his heart sting sharply at the sight. Gilbert was terribly pale – even more so than usual – and tears were still making their way down his cheeks. He made no move to stop them, a haunted look in his red eyes.

"Gilbert...? H-hey, you ok? Gilbert!" No response. He moved slightly, and this seemed to wake the other from the trance. He blinked and looked up at Matthew before suddenly sitting up, eyes flickering to the numbers by the door as the elevator finally was in motion yet again.

"We'll be out soon, they got the elevator moving again," Matthew smiled gently, standing and holding out his hand. The other took it and stood anxiously. As soon as the doors swung open, he practically darted out, Matthew following while some startled people blinked at the them.

"We're all right, there's nothing to see here," Matthew said, some irritation seeping into his voice as he gave the curious onlookers a gaze that somehow startled them into moving on their way. As soon as they were alone in the quiet corridor, Matthew walked over to the other, laying a hand carefully on his arm. Gilbert was still shivering.

The red-eyed man gave a quiet, shaky laugh and rubbed his cheeks furiously, avoiding Matthew's eyes. He looked positively traumatized, as if he'd just relived a horrible memory. Matthew couldn't stop himself. Before knowing what he was really doing, he pulled the other into a tight embrace.

"It's okay, Gilbert, you're safe now," he murmured softly, and heard the other give a sharp gasp before hugging him back. It was hesitant at first, but soon he could feel the Prussian's hands clinging to the back of his jacket, as if his life depended on it. The small sniffles brought tears to Matthew's own eyes.

It seemed he'd misunderstood this man completely. He was far from loud and oblivious – he was just very good at acting like everything was perfectly okay. It clearly wasn't, and Matthew regretted not trying to get to know him earlier. As far as he'd noticed, the ex-nation didn't have all that many friends. Just how long had he been dealing with this on his own?

At that moment, in the empty corridor on the fifth or sixth floor in an American monster building, listening to the repressed sobs of the supposedly unbreakable ex-nation, Matthew somehow knew that neither of them would have to suffer alone anymore. And with that thought, he held the other closely, feeling for the first time, that he had a purpose for existing.

oOo

_The song I used in this is a traditional French song called "A la Claire Fontaine", which is simply gorgeous~ Besides, I can just imagine Matthew have a pretty singing voice :3_

_If you could leave me a review telling me what you thought about this, it would really warm my heart! ^^_


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